WEEKLY: China's met coke supply stays tight amid bearish outlook

China's metallurgical coke supply remained relatively tight this week, as thin margins and a feed coal shortage continued to cap operations at coke plants. The supply-demand imbalance kept underpinning coke prices, though the week ended on a softer note.

Mild price retreats in some coking coal varieties slightly eased cost burdens for coke makers during the week, but most were still suffering poor profits, as earlier rallies in input coal prices had far outpaced the increases in coke prices. Meanwhile, some coke producers whose demand is mainly covered by